Question: Let $f(x) = -2x^{2}-3x+5$. Where does this function intersect the x-axis (i.e. what are the roots or zeroes of $f(x)$ )?
Answer: The function intersects the x-axis when $f(x) = 0$ , so you need to solve the equation: $-2x^{2}-3x+5 = 0$ Use the quadratic formula to solve $ax^2 + bx + c = 0$ $x = \dfrac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$ $a = -2, b = -3, c = 5$ $ x = \dfrac{+ 3 \pm \sqrt{(-3)^{2} - 4 \cdot -2 \cdot 5}}{2 \cdot -2}$ $ x = \dfrac{3 \pm \sqrt{49}}{-4}$ $ x = \dfrac{3 \pm 7}{-4}$ $x =-\frac{5}{2},1$